Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Deere Posts Net Loss; 2010 Forecast Trails Estimates (DE)

In early pre-market trade the stock is down 79 cents at $51.50 after hitting a 52-week high yesterday.From Bloomberg:

Deere & Co., the world’s largest maker of farm equipment, posted a fourth-quarter net loss of $222.8 million and forecast 2010 profit that trails analysts’ estimates as the recession reduces demand from growers.

The net loss of 53 cents a share compares with profit of $345 million, or 81 cents, a year earlier, Moline, Illinois- based Deere said today in a statement. Profit in the year starting Nov. 1 will be $900 million, less than the $1.15 billion average estimate of 13 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

Chief Executive Officer Samuel Allen recorded a $321.8 million charge in the quarter related to a decline in the value of the landscape supply business and to give voluntary separation packages to 800 workers. Equipment sales fell 30 percent in the quarter and will be down about 1 percent in fiscal 2010, Deere said.

“Farmers are expected to be cautious in their purchasing decisions as a result of sluggish overall economic conditions and near-term profitability issues in the livestock and dairy sectors,” the company said in the statement....MORE